Field Grade Officers and the Development of Leaders to Achieve Results

Introduction
The building blocks of the American Army are Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). They are large formations, blunt instruments of the national military power element tasked with the responsibility of fighting and winning our nation's wars. To accomplish this duty, the BCTs and their subordinate battalions must move on the same axis of progress, march to the same beat by the same drummer, and reach the objective simultaneously to deliver success required in the modern battlefield[footnoteRef:1]. Key in ensuring this success is the field grade officer, who is tasked with ensuring that the battalion's duty roaster is accurate and being enforced, the training schedule is being followed, and the regulatory tasks are being completed[footnoteRef:2]. In this essay, therefore, I discuss as a Brigade Commander how field grade officers lead in ethical organizations' development. I will analyze and respond to the provided case study through critical analysis and application of relevant theories to a field grade officer's role. [1: Daryle J. Hernandez, Building Strategic Leader Competencies into Army Officer (ARMY WAR COLL CARLISLE BARRACKS PA, 2011)] [2: Billy Miller and Ken Turner. "Leading Organizational Change: A Leaders Role." L103RB Reading, Command and General Staff College Curriculum (2016).]
Critical leadership problem
Even though the 4th Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) has so far had significant success, it is clear that serious problems face the team and sure to soon manifest in diminished success in its missions. Also, several battlefield problems have a significant negative effect on the effectiveness of the team. In line with the Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL) report for the 4th ABCT in Afghanistan, several problems manifested; lack of a universal communication system which hampered command and control, insufficient personnel authorizations, over-delegation of tasks to the deputy brigade commander, training challenged based on the modular BCT structure, alignment of two battalions with Special Force Advisor Team (SFAT) which required rethinking of the combat organization, lack of adequate resources for the Afghanistan environment, wrong mission-essential tasks training for the deployment to Afghanistan, unique issues created by the additional tasks, and potential problems as a result of the organizational culture within the 4th ABCT.
Other problems as per the 360-degree commander and staff assessment of the 4th ABCT by the Center for Army Leadership Assessment and Feedback Program include; lack of trust and confidence by the subordinates units to the staff of the 4th ABCT, and lack of willingness to include subordinates in decision-making and failure to develop subordinates, couch and counsel them. A survey by the ABCT HQ showed many soldiers of the team are under stress. Finally, a review of the brigade's reset plan and timelines and personal conversations with members of the team reveal major inconsistencies, challenges, incompetency, and dissatisfaction.
It is my view that the critical leadership problem facing 4th ABCT is organizational leadership. There is a vacuum in bringing the ABCT to operate as a single unit executing missions harmoniously, cohesively, and motivated. The inadequacy of organizational leadership has led to the 4th ABCT facing leadership problems: a failure in communication, lack of alignment, lack of a clear vision, poor execution of missions, and an incompatible culture.
Improvement plan
To tackle the issues facing the 4th ABCT, I propose an organizational change that will provide organizational leadership to the team, ensure the development of personnel, and successfully implement missions[footnoteRef:3]. The change throughout the brigade will follow Kotter's 8 stage model for change[footnoteRef:4]. Because the 4th ABCT is an active combat team of the US Army, this change is to be done with urgency. I will then create a guiding coalition and develop a vision and strategy for the change. Next, I will communicate the change vision to all parties involved; this will allow for an empowered broad-based change action throughout the brigade. To motivate all, there will be some short-term wins, and gains will be consolidated to produce more change, and lastly, the new approaches will be anchored in the brigade's culture. [3: Flavio de Almeida Serapião, "Leadership Effectiveness in the Army: A Perspective from the US Army War College." (PhD diss., University of Pennsylvania, 2020).] [4: Billy and Turner. "Leading Organizational Change…” L103RB Reading, Command and General Staff College Curriculum (2016).]
Leadership
It is obvious that the current leadership within the ABCT is failing, and thus, as the Brigade Commander, my plan to change the entire leadership concept within the brigade's leadership, retaining those who have shown consistently during the turbulent time, any discharging those who have failed on their duties. Leaders will be determined through performance and not just their positions[footnoteRef:5]. More importantly, as the Brigade Commander, I will lead by example, with a wide range of knowledge and applying leadership competencies, which are meant to build a team with discipline, trust, cohesion, and proficiency. I will also require all leaders to adopt the leadership by example model, especially the field grade officers. [5: Andrzej Lis. "The manifestations of positive leadership strategies in the doctrinal assumptions of the US Army leadership concept." Journal of Corporate Responsibility and Leadership 2, no. 1 (2015): 51-76.]
The field grade officers will provide an excellent opportunity for extending leadership beyond the chain of command for the 4th ABCT. For the army, the state of mind for the personnel, particularly the soldiers, is critical. To ensure leadership is extended beyond the command chain, other means, e.g., persuasion, motivation, empowerment, negotiation, bargaining, conflict resolution, diplomacy, and advocacy, will be used[footnoteRef:6]. Central to the changed leadership will be effective and efficient communication that ensures shared understanding and communication that involves the subordinate and support teams, e.g., the team responsible for moving the brigade's equipment. [6: Gregory W. McLean. Leadership principles for the new ADP 6-22. (ARMY COMMAND AND GENERAL STAFF COLL FORT LEAVENWORTH KS SCHOOL OF ADVANCED MILITARY STUDIES, 2012.)]
Develop
Based on the current problems the brigade is facing, there was little, if any, for development of the 4th ABCT. I will take a long-term approach to develop the entire ABCT by initiating plans for the next quarter, next year, and the next five years. The current quagmire that the brigade faces is a result of the inadequate development of the team. Initially, the 4th ABCT was effective, and operations synchronous. Still, since some of the vital leadership left, there was a gap between the leaving and the incoming leadership, which has caused significant problems. To achieve this, the first step will be creating a positive environment that will spring from the leader's attitudes, actions, and priorities, and these will be ingrained in the brigade through policies, choices, and programs[footnoteRef:7]. [7: McLean, Leadership principles for the new ADP 6-22. (ARMY COMMAND AND GENERAL STAFF COLL FORT LEAVENWORTH, 2012.)]
Also, leadership will seek to develop itself. I will require the brigade's leadership to develop through preparation, which will be done by keeping the focus on the needs of the organization. As role models, leaders must actively counsel their subordinates on professional growth and seek broadening of experiences by expanding knowledge, skills, and capabilities.
Lastly, I will require leaders to develop others below them. Field grade officers will be required to determine others' potential through their talents and engage in talent management and support for improvement. In general, the Army is a team of teams, and the Army is as strong as the weakest team. I will engage in building team skills and processes[footnoteRef:8]. [8: Ibid]
Achieving mission objectives
For the Army, all preparation is simply useless if it cannot be translated to success in missions it engages, especially on the battlefield. To ensure the 4th ABCT not only achieves the mission's objectives but is also consistent with its result, I will ensure competency in planning, preparation, execution, and assessment of missions[footnoteRef:9]. The first step towards ensuring the achievement of the mission's goals will be to focus on my subordinates' intentions. I will do this by providing directions, guidance, and clear priorities promptly. [9: Sam-Joo Lee and Sang-Hyuk Park. "The Effect of Modern Leadership Style on Organizational Effectiveness: Focusing on Army Commander's Leadership." The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology 6, no. 1 (2020): 201-207.]
To ensure missions by the brigade are accomplished consistently, I will integrate and synchronize the available resources to meet the mission challenges. This will also require I master the resources and systems to deliver maximum usage benefits[footnoteRef:10], which will require I work closely with the field grade officers. Once each mission is complete, I will engage all the relevant leaders to assess the situation and establish potential improvement opportunities. [10: McLean, Leadership principles for the new ADP 6-22. (ARMY COMMAND AND GENERAL STAFF COLL FORT LEAVENWORTH, 2012.)]
Conclusion
Even though the 4th ABCT has had significant success, there are obvious problems, and it is my view that the critical leadership problem facing the brigade is inefficient organizational leadership. There is a vacuum in the role of bringing the ABCT to operate as a single unit. To address the brigade's problems, I propose an organizational change plan that is aimed towards providing organizational leadership to the team, ensuring the development of personnel, and the successful implementation of missions. The change throughout the brigade will follow Kotter's 8 stage model for change.
Bibliography
de Almeida Serapião, Flavio. "Leadership Effectiveness in the Army: A Perspective from the US Army War College." Ph.D. diss., University of Pennsylvania, 2020.
Hernandez, Daryle J. Building Strategic Leader Competencies into Army Officer Development and Career Progression. ARMY WAR COLL CARLISLE BARRACKS, PA, 2011.
Lee, Sam-Joo, and Sang-Hyuk Park. "The Effect of Modern Leadership Style on Organizational Effectiveness: Focusing on Army Commander's Leadership." The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology 6, no. 1 (2020): 201-207.
Lis, Andrzej. "The manifestations of positive leadership strategies in the doctrinal assumptions of the US Army leadership concept." Journal of Corporate Responsibility and Leadership 2, no. 1 (2015): 51-76.
McLean, Gregory W. Leadership principles for the new ADP 6-22. ARMY COMMAND AND GENERAL STAFF COLL FORT LEAVENWORTH KS SCHOOL OF ADVANCED MILITARY STUDIES, 2012.
Miller, Billy, and Ken Turner. "Leading Organizational Change: A Leaders Role." L103RB Reading, Command and General Staff College Curriculum (2016).